Eisenhower and Allied Commanders Plan D-Day Air and Naval Support and Reconsider Operation Anvil (1944)

Date: March 20, 1944

Created By: B.L. Montgomery

Original or Replica: Original

Era: D-Day and the Normandy Invasion, The General

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum

These top-secret minutes record a March 20, 1944 meeting of General Dwight D. Eisenhower and senior Allied commanders at Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), as they prepared for Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy. A major issue was Operation Anvil, the proposed invasion of southern France. Eisenhower believed Anvil, as originally planned, was no longer feasible because sufficient troops and landing craft were unavailable. He favored redirecting landing vessels from the Mediterranean to strengthen Overlord while maintaining offensive pressure in Italy and preserving a possible threat against southern France.

The commanders also considered the air and naval support necessary for the Normandy landings. General Bernard Montgomery outlined air priorities before and during D-Day, including destroying German air forces, disrupting communications, misleading the enemy about the invasion site, attacking coastal defenses, and protecting troops and ships during the assault. The meeting also addressed additional naval gunfire support and bombing Germany’s railway transportation system. Attached communications further explain Eisenhower’s argument that Overlord required additional landing craft and that Mediterranean forces should contain German divisions away from Normandy. Together, the documents demonstrate how Allied commanders coordinated air, naval, ground, and Mediterranean operations to maximize Overlord’s chances of success.